Each year during Homecoming Weekend, the University of Northern Colorado Alumni Association honors outstanding alumni and friends whose service and achievements embody the university’s tradition of excellence. We are proud to announce the 2009 Honored Alumni Award recipients.
Distinguished Emeritus Award
Allan “Gene” Aitken may have retired from the University of Northern Colorado to tour Asia and promote jazz music and jazz education, but his heart is still on campus. Aitken continues to make UNC an important part of his life, and that is why he is a natural fit for the Distinguished Emeritus Award. “Wherever he is, Gene Aitken never fails to mention that he is an emeritus professor from the University of Northern Colorado,” a nominator wrote. “He is a tireless supporter of all programs of the UNC School of Music.”
Aitken retired in 2002, but that does not mean he’s been at home working in the garden. Since his retirement, he has been on ABC World News direct from Erbil, Iraq, inducted into the Down Beat magazine Jazz Educator Hall of Fame and conducted China’s top military band, the Military Band of the People’s Liberation Army of China. In 2007, Aitken conducted the UNC/Greeley Jazz All Stars, sharing the evening stage with the Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra.
One of Aitken’s most exciting endeavors is the Southeast Asian Youth Orchestra and Wind Ensemble, a project he co-founded in 2003. In the first year, 500 students auditioned and 146 were selected to play a concert in Thailand at the Thailand Cultural Center in Bangkok. This proud tradition still continues today.
Aside from his international conducting and education duties, Aitken has found time to author more than 30 articles for national and international journals on jazz education and computer technology. In 1997, the National Education Association published a chapter in “Technology and Higher Education” by Aitken on the future of music education in the United States. Aitken has also been on 30 recordings and continues to teach master classes for wind ensemble directors.
Even while touring the world, “Dr. Aitken is a strong supporter of the UNC Jazz program and makes the commitment to return to Greeley every year to work and conduct the UNC Jazz Festival,” stated one nominator.
Creative Achievement Award
University of Northern Colorado musical theatre graduate Aléna Watters has made the trip from Colorado to New York look easy. One nominator explained the 2003 graduate’s journey: “She has performed alongside luminaries such as Bette Midler. She has used her training and education to land roles in important Off-Broadway productions in New York City, in musicals at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., and in regional theatre productions from Boston to our own summer stock Little Theatre of the Rockies.”
Her impressive resume makes Watters the perfect recipient of the Creative Achievement Award. Watters’ talents are not limited to just stage. She has performed in concerts, films, TV programs, showcases and readings. She also has special skills ranging from piano sight reading and choreography to dialect and character voices. Whether it is dancing on “Live! With Regis and Kelly” or working on a smaller New York-based project, Watters combines the lessons learned at UNC with natural talent to make her a force in the performing world.
Other people have taken notice, too. She was mentioned in the Beacon Journal as being “a true triple threat with her excellent dancing, vocals and acting.” Watters was also mentioned in Washington, D.C.’s MetroWeekly: “Aléna Watters looks like Kelly Clarkson and has the vocal chops to match.”
Watters can be seen in the upcoming Broadway show “The Adams Family” starring Nathan Lane and Bebe Neuwirth. She was also recently certified as a Vinyasa/Hatha yoga instructor. No matter what she is doing, “Watters is the kind of exceptional young graduate of our institution that deserves our recognition and applause,” one nominator wrote. “She is emblematic of why we are considered one of the top university programs in the performing arts.”
Young Alumni Award
The connection Brian M. Davidson, MD, has to the University of Northern Colorado did not start his freshman year of college. Instead, it began the year before when he attended the Frontiers of Science Institute. During his time at UNC, he held numerous leadership roles, serving on Student Representative Council and holding a leadership position with his social fraternity, Delta Tau Delta. Ultimately, Davidson won the UNC Dickinson Presidential Prize for Leadership at the 1999 spring commencement ceremonies where he graduated summa cum laude with a pre-health degree.
After graduation, Davidson continued his hard work both on and off the UNC campus. For his activities during his attendance at UNC and his dedication to the university since, he is the ideal recipient of the Young Alumni Award.
Davidson went on to attend the University of Colorado School of Medicine where he received the Adler Scholar Award for outstanding leadership and service to CU Medical School and graduated as president of his medical school class. In 2004, Davidson was appointed by the governor to serve as a public member of the State Board of Dental Examiners, a position he still holds today.
Upon graduation, Davidson started as the assistant medical director for perioperative services at the University of Colorado Hospital and serve as assistant professor of anesthesiology at the CU School of Medicine. He completed a physician executive fellowship in healthcare administration at the University of Colorado Hospital. Concurrent with the fellowship, he completed an MBA in healthcare administration at the University of Colorado Denver. Davidson is the third youngest person ever admitted to the executive program and graduated in July 2009.
One nominator wrote: “Brian’s accomplishments in his professional career, commitment to community service and continued involvement at UNC should make him a standout as the candidate of choice for the 2009 Young Alumni Award. He is a graduate who brought, and will continue to bring, unequivocal pride to the University of Northern Colorado.” For those reasons and many others, he is being honored at the 2009 Homecoming festivities.
Honorary Alumni Award
Although Frank and Betty Ottesen are relatively new to the Greeley area, they have already made a big impact on the University of Northern Colorado and Greeley itself. While they are not graduates of UNC, “the Ottesens have adopted us as if they had not only attended the institution, but had been part of the founding families of our esteemed academy,” wrote a nominator. That is why the Ottesens will be awarded the Honorary Alumni Award at Homecoming 2009.
The Ottesens have become engaged in the university, even counseling College of Performing and Visual Arts Dean Andrew Svedlow on many issues that currently face the arts in higher education. Part of their university engagement includes endowing a scholarship for a performing and visual arts student. “Helping our community with scholarship and assisting students to complete their education is so rewarding,” they said, upon founding the scholarship. “The arts have been an important part of our lives.”
The Ottesens came to Greeley in 1993 after Frank sold the family business, Brighton Grain Company. Betty, stemming from her interest and familiarity in Indian art, assists with the Downtown Art Train in Greeley and Eagle Plume’s in Estes Park. Frank was an active member in the Elks Lodge and currently works as support staff at Allnutt Funeral Services. Both Frank and Betty enjoy volunteering with the Santa Fe Indian Market and are proud supporters of the Greeley Philharmonic and the Little Theatre of the Rockies.
The Ottesens embody the Honorary Alumni Award. As one nominator concluded, “Such recognition would not only give great pleasure to the Ottesens, but would serve as a symbol of the university’s gratefulness to those who join and support our university family not for any other motive but to give to the greater good that UNC represents.”
Distinguished Alumni Service Award
Randy Watkins may have had an unfair advantage over the other freshmen stepping foot on the UNC campus in 1995. On top of being born and raised in Greeley, his father, Lee Watkins, graduated from UNC in 1968. Still, the younger Watkins’ dedication to the university is evident on both a professional and personal level, and that is why he will receive the Distinguished Alumni Service Award.
After graduating with an accounting degree in 1999, Watkins started his professional career in the Denver office of BDO Seidman, which later became Anton Collins Mitchell LLP (ACM). In 2008, he joined Watkins & Schommer Inc., in Greeley, and in 2009, became a shareholder in that company. He has been actively involved in auditing and consulting for organizations in numerous industries and has experience in helping companies comply with the Sarbanes- Oxley Act of 2002.
Watkins has always given back to UNC. He is currently chairman of the Accounting Academic Advisory Board in the School of Accounting and Computer Information Systems, Treasurer of the University of Northern Colorado Alumni Association, and participant in the national accounting honorary society Beta Alpha Psi. “Randy gives back to accounting, MCB and UNC in ways we encourage our graduates to support the university after graduating and leaving campus,” wrote one nominator. “He has been an exemplary alumnus to our students since he graduated in 1999.”
Watkins also continues to support the university and its graduates by being the lead person for recruiting at UNC. “He has hired many students over the years, which is an important part of the alumni cycle that we like to see,” a nominator wrote. “First and foremost, he realizes that UNC gave him the opportunity to enter the accounting profession, and he opens those same doors for current UNC accounting graduates by hiring them into his CPA firm.”
Distinguished Alumni Award
Tim Jorstad may be a familiar name to those who read the Winter 2009 Northern Vision. Appearing on the cover, Jorstad told his story from working the Monfort meatpacking plant kill floor to starting his own company, Jorstad Inc., an accounting firm in San Rafael, Calif.
While the article highlights the 1975 accounting grad’s rise to success, his commitment to community service and UNC will be recognized with the Distinguished Alumni Award. One accounting professor remembered Tim as a “very serious, dedicated nontraditional student. He quickly became a leader among the students. He and another nontraditional student co-founded the UNC Accounting Club, the predecessor organization to our current Beta Alpha Psi Chapter, a national honorary for accounting majors.”
Jorstad is a major believer in giving back to his community. In fact, he says one of the most rewarding aspects of his business is watching some of his famous clients become involved in social and political causes. One client is Carlos Santana, who recently built a medical clinic and cultural center in his small Mexican hometown.
Jorstad also remains active in UNC activities and has returned to campus to speak to students and assist in placing accounting graduates with Bay Area accounting firms. One nominator wrote: “I believe his willingness to help UNC graduates today, after 35 years, is a direct result of the education he received at UNC and his relationships with the accounting and other business faculty. He is a model of what our college has accomplished over the years. Tim Jorstad’s success should be shared with our students and alumni and presented as a fine example of what first-generation college students can attain.”
Distinguished Alumni Award
Randall Zila may be known professionally as the former superintendent of the St. Vrain Valley School District, but around the University of Northern Colorado, he is just another one of the many outstanding graduates who embody the type of education professional UNC prepares. He earned an MA in curriculum and instruction in 1980 and an EdD in elementary education in 1996. For his tireless work in education and his devotion to the university and its students, he will receive the Distinguished Alumni Award.
Zila began his career as a teacher and rose through the K-12 system until becoming superintendent, even being named Superintendent of the Year in 2007 by the Colorado Association of School Executives. Working in the St. Vrain Valley School District, he has faced the challenges presented by a $13.5 million budget deficit and the Colorado Student Assessment Program, all while maintaining adequate yearly progress goals. Zila’s colleagues wrote glowingly about his leadership, budgetary and technical skills, but also his personal style. “He shows respect for his colleagues and for all employees in his district,” one nominator wrote. “He has the ability to bring out the best in people.”
According to Zila himself, UNC is where he really got his start in education. “Dr. Zila is very proud of his roots at UNC,” a nominator wrote. “I have heard him say publicly that the quality of teacher candidates from UNC is second to none.” Zila recently volunteered to serve on the Advisory Board of the College of Education and Behavioral Sciences and has been a keynote speaker at the college’s Honors Convocation.
“Dr. Zila has worked closely with our department over many years,” another nominator wrote. “He has taught several courses for us, both on and off campus. Students respect his knowledge of educational leadership and his genuine care about individuals in the program.”
Distinguished Alumni Award
Sharon Lee Parker, who earned a master’s degree in gerontology in 1977, returned recently to Greeley to speak at the North Colorado Medical Center about her personal dealings with cancer. An attendee at the event said, “Despite her unique personal story and lifestyle, she was just like us—human, angry and frightened, yet full of spunk, optimism and hope—the kind of hope and energy that so many of us affected by cancer need ourselves to wage the battle with cancer.” As a UNC graduate and for her courage as a cancer survivor, Parker will receive the Distinguished Alumni Award.
Parker’s book “Look Out Cancer, Here I Come!” tells about the journey of her cancer diagnosis, treatment and survival. Since writing the book, she has become a self-professed cancer coach, helping more than 800 patients, offering support, friendship and questions patients can ask their oncologists.
One nominator wrote: “She told me that her master’s degree in gerontology from UNC has been advantageous to her as she works with others. Sharon is a cancer coach 24/7 with her cell phone ringing frequently. It is nothing for her to jump on a plane and head to New York from her home in Florida, where she resides with her supportive husband George, to help someone newly diagnosed with cancer.”
Parker is invited to speak about her experiences based on her successful book. “Audience members line up after to ask her questions and have their book personally signed,” a nominator wrote. Building on the impact of her personal story and book, she started the Life Lover Foundation, a cancer research foundation whose goal is to fund new and novel cancer therapies.
One nominator summarized what many stated: “Sharon Lee Parker is a dynamic speaker and caring person who is a cancer survivor, writer, speaker, fundraiser and cancer coach. She is making a difference in the lives of thousands. She is most deserving to be recognized as a UNC Distinguished Alumna.”
Call for Nominations
The Northern Colorado Alumni Association is now accepting nominations for the 2010 Honored Alumni Awards to be held at Homecoming in October 2010. For more information visit our alumni nomination forms or contact the Alumni Association at 800.332.1862, 970.351.2551 or alumni@unco.edu.